Design Tips For Small Gardens

Do you have a small garden? Are you really making the most of it? The answer is probably that there is more you could do to make the most of the space. When designing a small garden, the key is to think big – your small garden can still be a beautiful and relaxing space and can still provide a wealth of sustenance for you and your household. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your small garden:


Vertical GardenThe Sky is the Limit


One of the key things to remember when designing a small garden is that, really, you are only limited on one plane – the horizontal. Vertically, the sky is the limit! Make sure you are making the most of your space by engaging in vertical gardening practices. Walls of strawberries and salads, towers of herbs, vining plants grown up fence or trellis and trees can all help add a vertical element to your garden that will immediately make it feel bigger and make it more productive.


Garden gateCreate Vistas, Lead the Eye


Creating vistas and leading the eye either to the furthest part of your garden or to a 'borrowed' part of the landscape outside your space will also help your garden to feel bigger. Lead the eye with paths and clever planting. When planting, thinking like a painter can help you to allow the foreground to pop and the background to recede, another thing that will make the space seem larger.


Chelsea Viking Cruises Norse GardenDivide to Conquer


It may sound a little odd to say that you should divide a small garden to make it seem bigger. But sometimes, creating separate 'garden rooms' in a small space can increase the useable space and make it feel like your garden is bigger than it is. A row of fruit bushes, for example, could partially screen a separate seating area beyond your vegetable beds. A small fruiting tree could also be used to screen a small seating area next to a little wildlife pond.


Small GardenCreate a Journey


One of the reasons why dividing a garden can work so well is that a small garden will always feel bigger when you are taken on a journey through it rather than just looking at it. A gently winding path leading through the small space is one way to create this feeling of a journey, as you make your way between the various areas.


Small spaces can be beautiful, productive and lush. How does your garden measure up?